USS Knox FF1052

• Namesake: USS Knox (FF-1052) was named in honor of Commodore Dudley Wright Knox, a distinguished naval officer and naval historian. • Class Leader: She was the lead ship of the Knox-class frigates, originally designated as a destroyer escort (DE-1052) before being reclassified as a frigate (FF-1052) in 1975. • Commissioning: USS Knox was commissioned on 12 April 1969 at Long Beach, California, after being launched on 19 November 1966 by Todd Shipyards in Seattle. • Vietnam War Service: The ship saw action off the coast of Vietnam, providing naval gunfire support and anti-submarine operations during the Vietnam War. • Anti-Submarine Warfare Focus: USS Knox was designed primarily for anti-submarine warfare (ASW), equipped with SQS-26 sonar, ASROC launcher, and torpedo tubes, as well as a DASH drone helicopter (later replaced by the LAMPS SH-2 Seasprite). • Rescue Operations: In October 1972, USS Knox rescued 11 South Vietnamese sailors after their vessel was sunk by North Vietnamese shore batteries. • Pacific Deployments: Throughout its service, USS Knox participated in numerous Pacific Fleet exercises and deployments, including visits to Japan, the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Australia. • Modernization: During the late 1970s, the ship was upgraded with newer electronics and weapons systems to keep pace with evolving naval threats. • Decommissioning: USS Knox was decommissioned on 14 February 1992 and struck from the Naval Vessel Register the same day, after over two decades of service. • Final Fate: After decommissioning, USS Knox was sunk as a target during a fleet training exercise off the coast of Southern California in August 2007.